The National Hockey League has decided it’s going to start treating its draft like a big deal, and on Monday night we’ll have the first live NHL Draft Lottery airing on ESPN.
Hockey’s draft, much like baseball, isn’t about seeing the stars of tomorrow — it’s about getting to know the stars three years from now. While it’s become commonplace for the No. 1 overall pick to make the jump immediately (like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini in back-to-back years), for the majority of prospects it’s about continuing to work their way through juniors, the minors, or the NCAA — and finally getting called up when the time is right.
Here’s everything you need to know about the NHL Draft Lottery
When is the NHL Draft Lottery?
The lottery will air live on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET. from the NHL Networks Studios in New Jersey
What is the NHL Draft Lottery format?
Much like the NBA, the NHL uses a weighted format to decide the Top 16 teams in the lottery based on the regular season record from the previous season. However, while the NBA allows the worst three teams to be weighted equally (therefore reducing the temptation to tank), the NHL still uses a system which highly favors the worst team getting the pick.
In addition it’s not possible for the worst team in the league to end up with a pick that’s worse than No. 3 overall, and nobody better than 11th in the regular season has a chance of moving up to the No. 1 pick.
Here are the odds for each team on Monday night.
NHL Draft Lottery Odds By Pick
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| San Jose Sharks | 25.5 | 18.8 | 55.7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 13.5 | 14.1 | 30.7 | 41.7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nashville Predators | 11.5 | 11.2 | 7.8 | 39.7 | 29.8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.3 | 15.4 | 44.6 | 20.8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Boston Bruins | 8.5 | 8.6 | 0.3 | – | 24.5 | 44 | 14.2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Seattle Kraken | 7.5 | 7.7 | 0.2 | – | – | 34.1 | 41.4 | 9.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Buffalo Sabres | 6.5 | 6.7 | 0.2 | – | – | – | 44.4 | 36.5 | 5.6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Anaheim Ducks | 6 | 6.2 | 0.2 | – | – | – | – | 54.4 | 30 | 3.2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 | 5.2 | 0.2 | – | – | – | – | – | 64.4 | 23.5 | 1.7 | – | – | – | – | – |
| New York Islanders | 3.5 | 3.7 | 0.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 73.3 | 18.4 | 0.9 | – | – | – | – |
| New York Rangers | 3 | 3.2 | 0.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 79.9 | 13.4 | 0.5 | – | – | – |
| Detroit Red Wings | – | 5.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 85.7 | 8.9 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | – | – | 3.2 | >0.0 | >0.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 90.7 | 5.1 | >0.0 | – |
| Utah Hockey Club | – | – | – | 3.2 | >0.0 | >0.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 94.7 | 2.1 | >0.0 |
| Vancouver Canucks | – | – | – | – | 1.1 | – | >0.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 97.9 | 1.1 |
| Calgary Flames | – | – | – | – | – | 1.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 98.9 |
Who is the prize this year?
The 2025 NHL Draft class does not have a transformative center like Connor Bedard, or a future front line cornerstone like Macklin Celebrini — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one hell of a player in the pipeline.
Universally the No. 1 pick is considered to be defenseman Matthew Schaefer. The 17-year-old already has NHL size at 6’2, 183 pounds — with room to add more bulk to his frame and potentially play around at around 200 pounds. He’s a smooth skating, instinctual defender with a hockey IQ way beyond his years on both ends of the ice.
Schaefer’s all-around ability has drawn comparisons to Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes, who has been a backbone of the team since he was drafted in 2012. That’s the potential teams are seeing: The ability in Schaefer to get an elite NHL defenseman who can be a reliable force for the next 15 years.
Another potential top pick in Michael Misa, a forward who exploded for Saginaw in the OHL this season. Misa has solid size, a brutal left handed shot, and took over the game this season with 62 goals and 72 assists in 65 games. With the potential to be an elite two-way center there is a chance looks in a different direction at No. 1, depending on who lands the pick.